A vehicle is a complex assembly of hundreds of components. Many of these components are visible on the exterior or interior of the vehicle. Components adjacent one another may be closely spaced, forming a joint between the components. For example, the body side outer components of the vehicle, such as the fender and the body side outer at the base of the A-pillar form a joint with a visible gap.
The appearance of the gaps between adjacent components affects the perceived quality of the vehicle. For optimal aesthetics and a “tailored” appearance, the gaps should appear to be as small as possible. Additionally, if any of the gaps appear to vary in size, perceived quality may be lower. Competing factors, such as assembly build variations (i.e., assembly stack-up tolerances), and component manufacturing, such as a potential die lock when forming the component, may require that a gap be larger than aesthetics alone would dictate. Typically, vehicle manufacturers do not have a consistent methodology for minimizing the appearance of gaps when designing adjacent vehicle components.